The CMDB Solution task "Inventory to Asset Synchronization" (Manage > Jobs and Tasks > System Jobs and Tasks > Service and Asset Management > CMDB) will update four CMDB Solution data classes (a.k.a., "Asset" data classes) from four related Inventory Solution data classes. The CMDB data classes that are updated will vary depending on what version is used.

Data classes that are updated

For CMDB Solution 7.x and Inventory Solution 7.x
 

• System Number: CMDB's data class Inv_Identity.[System Number] is synced from Inventory Solution's data class Inv_SW_BIOS_Element.[Identification Code]. Notes: (1) The Inventory Solution "System Number" data class is commonly referred to as the "Asset Tag" field, a.k.a., the Inventory System Number. CMDB does not have an "Asset Tag" data class, it uses its own "System Number" data class. These two data classes are often confused for one another but are entirely different. (2) This is the default Inventory Solution data class that is checked. If the expected Inventory Asset Tag data is not in Inv_SW_BIOS_Element.[Identification Code], the sync will skip this field. The following article describes how to verify and change which Inventory Solution data class to use:
  
  CMDB task "Inventory to Asset Synchronization" does not sync the System Number
  http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH186918
   
• Serial Number: CMDB's data class  Inv_Serial_Number.[Serial Number] is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Identifying Number].
• Manufacturer: CMDB's data class  Inv_Manufacturer.Manufacturer is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_HW_Logical_Device.Manufacturer.
• Model: CMDB's data class  Inv_Manufacturer.Model is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_HW_Logical_Device.Model. 
   

For CMDB Solution 6.5 and Inventory Solution 6.x
 

• System Number: CMDB's data class Inv_Identity.[System Number] is synced from Inventory Solution's data class Inv_AeX_HW_Serial_Number.[Asset Tag].
• Serial Number: CMDB's data class  Inv_Serial_Number.[Serial Number] is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_AeX_HW_Serial_Number.[Serial Number].
• Manufacturer: CMDB's data class  Inv_Manufacturer.Manufacturer is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_AeX_HW_Serial_Number.[System Manufacturer].
• Model: CMDB's data class  Inv_Manufacturer.Model is synced from Inventory Solution's  data class Inv_AeX_HW_Serial_Number.[Computer Model].
   

How this works

• The Inventory to Asset Sync is not enabled by default and so this data will not automatically appear when viewing or editing a computer.
• Inventory Solution is solely responsible for populating its own data classes; CMDB Solution has no control over this.
• The four CMDB data classes will only be updated if:
  
  * A record for the computer resource does not exist in the target CMDB data class, or
  * The data class in the target CMDB record is an empty string or NULL, and
  * The data class in the source Inventory record has a non-empty, non-NULL value.
  * The sync never replaces data in the four CMDB fields, therefore, if data is already present for a computer. If so, that field alone is skipped, and the other three remaining fields are evaluated for the above criteria.
  
  This means that if the data class in the target CMDB record is a string with length >=0, the sync will not be made for the given data field. For example: The sync has already brought over an Inventory Solution serial number and this is now in the CMDB Serial Number data class. The Inventory Solution's serial number value then changes. The change will not be updated in CMDB when the sync is next ran, as that data class already contains a value.
  
  Note: The attached SQL query to this article demonstrates how to check for valid values in the Inventory Solution data classes. Run this using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio to help determine if the Inventory to Asset Sync will work or not with the data that currently exists in Inventory Solution.
   
• The Inventory Solution serial number should not be confused with the serial number that the core Agent populates. CMDB does not sync from that serial number, only the Inventory serial number. Note: The serial number listed in Resource Manager under Summaries > Resource Summary is the core Agent serial number, not the one used by Inventory Solution.
• The Inventory to Asset Sync task does not create duplicates or merge records in any way. This simply copies data from the Inventory Solution data class to its counterpart for the same computer for the CMDB data class.
• The Inventory to Asset Sync does not copy any other data classes other than the above specified ones. A custom CMDB rule may be able to be used for that function, which is outside of the scope of this article to describe how to implement. 
   

Related Article

CMDB task "Inventory to Asset Synchronization" fails to work
http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH44306